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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE OCTOBER BOOK 




Colli uihiis, 

a Youth of Destiny 



Columbus, W e^ward Ho! 



A DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 

BY 

ALICE MERRILL HORNE 



With a Preface by 
PROFESSOR JOSEPH B. TORONTO 

And Illustrations by 
FLORENCE WARE 




"Published in Utah b}f 
"CHE JlUTHOli 



-^^^^c^ 
.s)^;,,^^ 



Copyright, June 26, 1922 
By ALICE MERRILL HORNE 
All rights reserved 

Application for the rights of performing 
this play should be made to Mrs. Geo. H. 
Home, Salt Lake City, Utah. 



Prmted in the United States of America 



©C1A686379 
SEP ~? r^7:> 



-Mo i 



DEDICATION 

TO BOYS ON DISCOVERY BENT 



Lyman 


Homer 


George 


Henry 


Albert 


Richard 


Bill 


Phil 


Leo 


David 


Laurence 


Daniel 


Preston 


Donald 


Fred 


Ned 


Harold 


Charles 


Clarence 


Alfred 


James 


Lee 


Montrose 


Ambrose 


Heber 


Waldo 


Hyrum 


Thomas 


Horace 


Joseph 


Hon 


John 



And every other mother's son 

That Old Sol shines upon; 

Besides that blessed "Good Old Scout," 

The little wise ones talk about 



PREFACE 

My dear Mrs. Home: — 

Your play, ''Columbus, Westward ho!" I 
have read now four times, and with increasing 
interest, and if you leave the typewritten copy 
with me a little longer, shall read it again be- 
fore I return it to you. 

Many plays are written that excite but little 
interest in the reading but depend upon the 
excellence of the players to carry them through, 
while others yield much more in the deliberate 
reading than can be brought out in the rapidly 
moving dialogue no matter how well spoken. 
This play does not fail in the first particu- 
lar, nor does the interest flag in any of the 
varied scenes, but rather moves forward 
gathering force steadily as it approaches 
the poetically conceived climax in the final 
scene. 

As to its fitness for the living stage, its psy- 
chology is so simple that our younger people 
whom you have mainly had in mind in writing 
the play, might perform it most successfully if 
endowed with a little imagination and his- 
trionic ability. The subject is so alluring that 
it can not fail tO' arouse enthusiasm. It abounds 
in opportunities for spectacular and affecting 
scenes, elements so essential to the success of a 
play. 



PREFACE 

As to the useful side, I am more convinced as 
I grow older, that history is mainly biography, 
but from a very cursory examination of some 
of our school histories, I fear that they have 
sublimated the essence and spirit of the sub- 
ject, and doled out to the hapless student only 
the calcined dross of generalization, impossible 
to retain and useless to apply without the con- 
crete facts from which they originated. Of 
course a play is not a formal biography, but if 
anything it is even better, and in full accord 
with the more practical ideas in vogue now, of 
visualizing wherever possible every form of 
instruction. 

The value of the history of the lives of great 
men is well illustrated in the story of the 
Travels and Voyages of that greatest traveler 
of all time, the Venetian Marco Polo. A like 
expedition undertaken at the present time with 
all the advantages that six centuries of prog- 
ress afford, would be considered as almost 
chimerical. Yet it was the publication of his 
wonderful experiences, at first received with 
incredulity in a most credulous age, that fired 
the imagination and ambition of men, which 
led to the two greatest geographical discov- 
eries, the route to the East around the southern 
extremity of Africa, and throwing open the 
gates to the western half of the world. 
We hear much in these days of a war between 



PREFACE 

England and our country as unthinkable, and 
mainly because we have in comimon one lan- 
guage and one literature. There can be no 
doubt but the more there is in common among 
men, the less are the probabilities of hostile 
sentiments. Most of the states of our country 
have set apart October 12th as a holiday, and 
it seems to me a lamentable oversight that the 
date above has not been made not only a na- 
tional holiday but an American holiday from 
Hudson's Bay to Cape Horn in honor of the 
great navigator w^ho first opened the gates of 
the New World to Europe. It would be a 
strong link to hold us together in amity and 
good-will in working out our destinies. 
Ignorance is the chief cause of hate among 
men, and anything that tends to enlarge our 
views and to show us what has been contributed 
to the common lot by the different nations of 
what we are pleased to call the civilized world 
is a valuable contribution to the peace of the 
world. Of the well known nations, Italy, the 
immediate source of our civilization, is less 
known than any other not only for what it 
was but also for what it is today and what it 
may be in a not far distant future. 
My sincere wish is that your work may meet 
the success which its merits deserve. 
Yours sincerely, 
J. B. Toronto. 
Dec. 20, 1921. 



CONTENTS IN THE ORDER OF 
PRESENTATION 

Dedication 

Preface 

List of Illustrations 

Characters 

Introduction to Prologue 

Prologue 

Act I 

Act II 

Epilogue 



ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE ORDER OF 
PRESENTATION 

Columbus, a Youth of Destiny 

"But always a light guides me while I sail 
and sail toward the land of my dreams, 
Cathay! Cipango! India!" 

Columbus with the Friars at La Rabida 

Isabella. Christopher Columbus, do you 
truly believe that the earth is round and 
that by sailing west from Spain the 
coveted Far-East will be found? 

Second Sailor. One Day? Have we not 
seen him in wild weather serenely 
dreaming of land while we lay des- 
pairing on the quaking deck ? 

Columbus. 'Tis seaweed ! A variety that 
grows only near shore. What moves 
on the seaweed? [They run to look, 
Diego hooks up a crab] 

The Flagship Pinta 

Columbus Sails on His Fourth Voyage 

Castile's Coat of Arms 



COLUMBUS. WESTWARD HO! 



CHARACTERS 

Christopher Columbus, a youth of destiny 

DoMENico, his father, a wool comber 

Susanna, his mother, a weaver 

Hernando ) , . 

^ > his sons 

Diego J 

Diego, his friend The Sea Captain 

Ferdinand of Aragon, King of Spain 

Isabella of Castile, Queen of Spain 

Father de Marchena, Franciscan friar of La 
Rabida, and Father Superior. 

Luis De Santangel, treasurer of Aragon 

Quintinilla^ treasurer of Castile 

FoNSECA, Columbus' enemy at the Spanish 
Court 

Jester, fool at the Spanish Court 

Andreas Martin, captain of the ship which 
brought Columbus in chains to Spain 

Indians, Knights, Sailors, Ladies in Wait- 
ing at the Spanish Court 



INTRODUCTION TO PROLOGUE 

Come hither, Boy, a story I've to tell, — 
True stories children like, I know full well. 
Achieveiment sets both old and young agog ; — 
So all who would achieve, get in this dialogue. 
Scan up the cast, fools, doubters, true believers. 
Sailors before the mast, or just plain honest 

weavers. 
Gay cavaliers at court, — all in straight rows. 
Or painted Indians with tomahawks and bows ; 
Be Ferdinand, or Friar, or jeweled Queen, 
Or one, (just like your own) Mother, of gentle 

mien. 
Or Youth of Destiny cast in heroic mould. 
Who served full forty years a New World to 

unfold ! 
Each part someone must play with all his heart ; 
Go now and dress; and act and be the part! 




''Rut ahvays a light 
guides me while I sail 
toward the land of my 
dreams, Cathay! Cipan- 
so! India r 



PROLOGUE 

[Home of Domenico and Susanna Co- 
lumbus in Genoa, Italy; Domenico and 
Christopher comb wool; Susanna is at the 
loom weaving; Domenico hums noisily as 
he works. Christopher, zvith a far-away 
look in his face greedily seizes the imol, 
cards it szviftly into shape and as he drops 
each fluffy bat into the basket gives a 
searching glance first at his father, then 
at the hour glass] 

Susanna [Aside] 

The sea is calling him again, and! the lure of 
the wharf hastens his hands. For hours he 
has worked without a word. How can I hope 
to hold my boy longer? Ah well, I will keep 
my peace until he speaks. 

Christopher 

The hours rush steadily even as high waves 
shoreward, but a great basket of wool moves 
slowly that must first be combed. Mother, I 
can't finish tonight. 

[Drops the carders, runs to his mother 
and puts both hands on her shoulders] 
15 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD, HO! 

Susanna 
But there's another day coming. 

Christopher 
Mother — tomorrow — 

Susanna 

Come dear, your hands tremble; you have 

worked too hard of late. Rest till we sup. 

[Pushes him into a chair, runs to the 

cupboard and hustles about setting table] 

What have we here? A surprise? 

[She runs to pet him] 

Christopher 

You always have salami when a boy feels blue. 
Why is it, mother? How do you find out? 

[His arms are about her] 

Susanna [Looking into his eyes] 

Sometimes boys confide in us, but even if they 
do not speak, somehow mothers always know. 
You are sad, Christopher. 

Christopher 

Not sad. 

16 



PROLOGUE 

Susanna 
No? 

Christopher 
Desperate ! 

Susanna 
Desperate? Now tell me all about it. 

Christopher 
I must do something! 

[Runs hack to work] 

DoMENico [Chuckling] 

More industry! Wife, — the boy grows like 
his father. He has combed more wool in the 
past fortnight — 

Susanna 

Do you forget last August ? 

[She resumes table setting] 

Christopher [Aside] 

Last August — that was when the St. Sebastian 
sailed! And now I must ask again to go. 
Good Saints aid me! 

[Runs to his father] 
May I go to the wharf to see the Florence 
sail at early dawn? 

17 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Susanna [sinks into the chair'] 

The sailors say they mil go farther down the 
coast of Africa than they have ever sailed be- 
fore. Oh how trim she will be all dressed for 
sailing! 

DoMENico [^Impatiently] 

Tut! Tut! What's all this? Ships again? Al- 
ways wharves and ships a-sailing! 

Susanna [Wringing her hands] 
I knew! I knew! 

DoMENico [Softly stroking the cloth in 
the loom] 

This piece of cloth is promised come next Fri- 
day, and you know, Christopher, I always keep 
my word — and — 

Susanna 

And if men kept all their promises the world 
would be different and happier. 

[Sits by the cradle and leans over the 
sleeping child] 

DoMENICO 

Tut ! Tut ! Son, we are a little behind, even 
now, with the combing. We lack — 

18 



PROLOGUE 

Susanna [Measuring zvith her apron] 

So much; — ^but I can't get it woven in time — 
my side — 
[Sobs] 

Christopher [Runs to her] 
Mother! That old ache — 

DoMENico [Sternly] 

Christopher ! 

[Rubs his zvife's face and hands, runs to 
the table and pours out a glass of wine; 
takes a little sip and holds it up to the 
light] 

Christopher 

That hurt so badly the day the St. Sebastian 
last sailed, — when the sailors said I could go 
too, and again the very first time the Florence 
left her moorings for the high seas. 

[DoMENico coughs dryly, and puts the 

wine to her lips, knowingly] 
Mother ! 

Susanna [Aside to Domenico] 

Have we not done our best? Let us submit. 
Weaving is not for Christopher. Fate claims 
him for the sea! 

19 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Christopher [Studying his mother^ 
You don't look ill ! 

Susanna 

There! I'm better — I was ill. Shall the boy 
go? [Aside'] The hurt is deeper than either 
of them think ! 

[Pulls DoMENico's sleeve] 
Well? 

Christopher [Earnestly pleading] 
Don't say no, Father, I'll finish before — 

Susanna 

He can't finish by daybreak — 

[She holds both hands out to Christo- 
pher, who runs into her arms and as she 
draws him close she exchanges nods with 
Domenico over his head] 

Domenico 

Eh ? Put away wool carding. You've earned 
the holiday. There! Be happy! Go to the 
wharf ! 

[Slaps him playfully] 

Christopher 

Oh! Oh! Mother! 

[Kneels by Susanna, then embraces her] 
20 



PROLOGUE 

Susanna {Holding the hoy's chin she looks 
dozim into his eyes] 

I wish I were the sea ! 

Christopher 
The sea? Why? 

Susanna 

That I might hold you with) a spell of enchant- 
ment. What fascination is there in the greasy 
wharves ? 

Christopher 

Why? Merchants are always unloading won- 
derful goods from strange ports! The sailors 
tell such splendid tales — wild men — fights with 
Mussulman — pirates — 

[Excitement renders him breathless] 

Susanna 

Such stories frighten me ! 

[Outside the church bells peal six of the 
clock and Domenico, Susanna and 
Christopher all rise and say their beads. 
The stage darkens. Susanna gets the 
meal on the table and Domenico cards 
wool] 

Domenico [Coughing apologetically] 

Not that I fear, Christopher! Your father is 

21 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

a brave man! But when we jog to market 
with our fine cloth, past lovely olive groves, 
through beautiful rose gardens, and by fields 
of sweet smelling carnations, happy am I that 
our lot is cast on land. 

Christopher [With gesticulation] 

But father. I yearn to- go to sea! I want to 
be a mariner ! To hoist the sails, — run up the 
flag, — ^climb the rigging, — keep watch in the 
lookout, — ^help at the wheel, — ring the two 
bells, — make the boat ship-shape, — shout "Land 
Ho!" — ^and all that! And at every launching 
for a long voyage I wish I were a stowaway! 
[DoMENico throws aside the carders and 
studies Christopher's face] 
Night after night when you and Mother think 
me sleeping, I lie trying to dream myself at 
sea! 

Domenico [Tenderly draws his son to his side 
as he sits by the cradle] 

Ah, Christopher, life on the sea has dangers. 
Though fascinating in the bay, out in the un- 
known waters ships must battle with wild 
weather; fierce winds rage; waves rise moun- 
tain high ; dreadful monsters follow the vessels ; 
frightful powers lure men and ships to their 
doom; but here, we are safe and can make an. 

22 



PROLOGUE 

honest living combing wool. I know of many 
lads^ — ^aye, brave and true — some of your own 
kin, who have gone to sea — but few indeed have 
returned to receive Christian burial. Of your 
own brother, Bartholomew, who went to sea 
when you lay in that cradle as baby Diego does 
tonight, only vague reports have been brought 
by sailors. 

Susanna 

But I have faith that Bartholomew lives and 
will return. 

[They all cross themselves^ 

DoMENico [Hoarsely] 
We can't sacrifice two sons to the sea! 

Susanna [Appealingly] 

For generations our people have been weavers. 
Weaving is a noble art and should remain in 
our household; if you loved weaving as you 
dream you love the sea, we could deal with 
princes and our fabrics would be famed. Labor 
born of joy become? exalted into art, then the 
laborer becomes greater than his hire and rises 
into the calling of an artist. 

[She runs and lights the candles] 

Christopher [A little stubbornly] 

A tall strong lad does not want to be always 

23 



COL UMB US, WESTWARD HO ! 

carding wool. Any boy can card wool, but 
a mariner must know lots of things. There 
is not so much danger as you think for the 
stars guide the sailors. 

[Runs to throzv open the window'] 
They use a compass which always points to 
the North Star, so that even in cloudy weather, 
in thick fog, or darkness, the sailors know 
which way to sail. 

Susanna 
Let the Good Father take care of the stars ! 

Christopher 

Father ! Mother ! 

[Draws them to the open window] 
See this compass Donatello lent me. 

[Takes something from his hosom] 
Now see for yourselves. 

[He thrusts the compass into Susanna's 

hand; Domenico looks over her shoulder] 
There is the North Star at the edge of the 
little cloud. 

Domenico [Surprised] 
The hand is pointing north! 

Susanna [Drops the compass] 

The thing is bewitched! 
{Crosses herself] 

24 



PROLOGUE 

Christopher 

And the sailors have charts to sail by. 

{Showing a chart he has just taken from 

the bags of wool] 
I have helped old Donatello make them. I'd 
rather make charts than weave. — Mother, there 
is a Far East, Cathay, Cipango, and India ! 

Susanna 
Mercy ! 

Christopher [Animatedly] 

To reach them merchants travel in caravans 
for safety on hump-backed animals that live 
for days and days without water; for bare 
steppes, sandy deserts, wild deep gorges must 
all be crossed. It takes years to go and re- 
turn and the travelers must be bold and brave, 
for they sometimes meet bands of wild men 
who rob and kill! 

[He has hunted out a book from the bags 

of wool and now opens it] 

DOMENICO 

Put no faith in that book. The story of Marco 
Polo is nothing but a fanciful lie ! 

Christopher [ Unconvinced] 

But I know a man who has been to these very 
cities. 

[Points to page after page] 
25 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

He says these quaint houses have carved images 
of ivory and wood, hammered brass, such as 
that, embroidered silks and Hnens. He has 
seen these queer people sit upon cushions while 
they are served dishes spiced to tempt a king. 
The fruits and nuts — 

Do MEN I CO \_Sternly seises and throws aside 
the book] 

These things are not for us. Neither Marco 
Polo nor the riches of his far-away India. 
Think no more of them! 

Christopher [Restoring his book] 

But I cannot help thinking of them. O Father, 
let me go to sea! The sailors like me! They 
seek the far eastern countries by water around 
the great land of Africa. They'll take care of 
me. I shall come back ! Let me go ! Let me 
go to sail and sail ! 

[He holds out his arms to his father ap- 

pealingly] 

DoMENico [Weeps] 
Wife, what shall we do! Speak to him; plead 
for us! 

[Sinks into a chair] 

Susanna 
Not tomorrow — wait — next voyage — another 
year — ^my boy — 

26 



PROLOGUE 

Christopher {Steadfastly'\ 

They say dreams come true and I often dream 
myself sailing the unknown seas ; but always a 
light guides me while I sail and sail toward the 
lands of my dreams, Cathay ! Cipango ! India ! 

Susanna 

May the blessed saints guard you! Let him 
go, then, Doimenico^ — tomorrow ! 

Christopher {Runs to embrace his father and 
kiss his mother and the brother in the cradle] 

No, Mother, not tomorrow ! Now ! ! 

Susanna [Astonished and wondering] 
Tonight? — In the dark? — Alone? 

Christopher 

Not Alone! Donatello waits until this hour 
passes ! 

[Points to the hour glass, where only a 

few grams of sand remain] 

Susanna 
Donatello ? 

[Christopher motions that Donatello 
is outside] 

27 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Your clothing — ^the cold winter sea blasts — I — 

[Trying to rouse herself '\ 
I must — 

Christopher 
Here! 

{Uncovers a neatly rolled bundle of cloth- 
ing from the bags of wool] 

Susanna [With a new comprehension] 
Christopher ! 

DoMENico [Helplessly, and seemingly unable 

to rise] 

He must take the lantern — I must light — 

[But Christopher runs to the open win- 
dow and reaches a lighted lantern, as if 
from a nail outside] 

Susanna [Aside] 
The signal! 

Christopher [Taking up the hour glass and 
for a moment watching, then reverting it] 

A new hour has begun! Before its sand sifts 

through I shall be aboard ship, on my first 

voyage ! 

[He seises his bundle, lifts the lantern 
high, to throw a light before him and 
pushes open the door, as his parents each 
extend a hand tozvard him in blessing as 

THE CURTAIN FALLS. 
28 



ACT THE FIRST 




t3 



:5^ 



O 5^ 



ACT THE FIRST 

[About forty years have elapsed. The 
court of King Ferdinand of Aragon 
and Queen Isabella of Castile in a 
military camp at Granada, Spain. The 
Spanish monarchs are driving out of their 
country the Mohammedan Moors, Ferdi- 
nand is in the field, Isabella enters 
with her attendants and goes to her throne. 
A flourish of trumpets is heard without 
and a courier enters] 

Courier [To Isabella] 

Your Majesty, I bring a message from the 
King. He yields to your request and is fol- 
lowing close upon my heels. 

[Another flourish, Ferdinand enters, 
greets the Queen and, followed by his 
escort, seats himself on his throne. His 
knights stand in a group near him. The 
Fool seats himself at Isabella's feet] 

Isabella 

My Lord, our extraordinary dispatch which 
summoned you hither was sent to satisfy 
Father Superior of La Rabida, who urged that 
one Christopher Columbus, a scholar and bold 

31 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

adventurer, be given an opportunity to recite 
before our dual courts a novel and ingenious 
scheme for discovering the Orient by water. 

Ferdinand [^Greatly astonished^ 

We are hastily summoned from pursuing the 
infidel Moor on the battlefield to hear a talk 
concerning the mythical land ? 

Isabella 

My Lord, pray read the good Friar's letter, 
and glean for yourself whether our sending 
[she holds up the letter] for your Majesty was 
unwarranted. 

[A page carries the letter, zvhich the King 

reads] 

Attendant [To the Queen] 

Christopher Columbus, who was overtaken by 
Your Majesty's envoy, awaits. 

Isabella 

Bid him enter. 

[She motions to the secretaries, who take 
seats at a table. Columbus, follozved by 
a friar, enters and makes obesiance before 
the thrones] 

32 



ACT THE FIRST 

Isabella [Impatient to begin] 

Christopher Columbus, do you truly believe 
that the earth is round and that by sailing west 
from Spain the coveted Far-East will be found ? 

Courtiers [Aside] 

Stuff ! Nonsense ! Idle dreams 1 

Columbus 

No, Your Majesty. I knozv it and I now plead 
for means to undertake its proof to a doubting 
world. 

Father de Marchena 

You are not the first to advance this theory, 
Columbus ? 

Columbus 

The theory is not new. Sages have talked of 
it for more than eighteen centuries. Era- 
tosthenes held that it would be possible to sail 
from Spain to India on the same parallel line 
and - that only the Atlantic's vastness would 
make the voyage dangerous. On the other 
hand, Seneca thought the distance might be 
so short that with favorable winds a ship could 
make the voyage in a few days; for he says, 
"There will come a time in the later years, 
when Ocean shall loosen the bonds by which 

33 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

she has been confined, when an immense land 
shall lie revealed ; and Tethys shall disclose new 
worlds and Thule no longer shall be the most 
rejmote of countries." 

Courtier [Aside] 
He believes/ his own foolish words ! Ha ! Ha ! 

Columbus 

Strabo suggests the possibility of a new inhab- 
ited world or even more than one. [Several 
courtiers cough dryly] Aristotle proved to his 
own satisfaction by observations during eclipses 
and in other ways that the earth is round. Phil- 
osophers have foretold it. Homer sang of it, 
and upon it Italy's sweet singer, Dante, bases 
his "Divine Comedy." Robert Bacon's ideas 
confirm my views. Learned men of our own 
time believe in the earth's rotundity. By the 
ignorant alone, is it discredited. 

[The Spanish courtiers have been nodding 
wisely, winking, shrugging their shoulders, 
chuckling among themselves, poking each 
other jocosely, hut they now break out in 
open ridicule] 

First Courtier 

Ha! Ha! His foolish impudence! 

34 



ACT THE FIRST 
Second Courtier 
An educated crank! 

Third Courtier 
A begging sailor! 

Fourth Courtier 
A foolhardy mariner! 

Fifth Courtier 
Why not call a madman a madman? 

Ferdinand 

Cathay may lie west of Europe but is not the 
distance too great for navigation? 

Father de Marchena 

I know that two travelers, Franciscan monks, 
have discovered that Asia has an end; they 
describe Cathay as bordering upon an eastern 
ocean just as Europe is washed by a western 
ocean — 

Columbus [Breaking in] 

Are not these one and the same sea? By sail- 
ing westerly from Spain, Cathay will be found. 

35 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 
Jester 

Why should a monkey monkey more if the 
monks have already located the public bathing 
place ? 

[Nods wisely. Courtiers giggle] 

Fourth Courtier 
But Spain is dry and we need public baths. 

Columbus 

Could aught overshadow Spain's advantage 
should she shorten the route to the orient ? 

Isabella 
Nothing ! 

Ferdinand 
Nothing! 

Jester 

Now, Courtiers — ^chorus — 

[Waving a baton which he has struck on 
his foot] 

Courtiers 

Nothing! Nothing! [They repeat together] 
Nothing ! ! 

Columbus 

By land it is proved impossible! Though the 
caravan fails, the caravel may not ! Would you 

36 



ACT THE FIRST 

wrest Venice's commerce from her brilliant 
merchantmen? Then make the attempt! Shall 
the active sea-faring Portuguese snatch all the 
laurels of discovery? Then fit out three cara- 
vels. Prince Henry, the Navigator, has proved 
this quest is not around the coast of Africa. 
Lo! Toscanelli points west — west. — I know 
it is west!! 

Jester 

West — west — [Points] I know that is west, 
yon is south, at my back is north, and the wind 
"blows from the east. 

Columbus 

West let me sail, to the stately cities of the 
east, with their gardens of rare flowers, their 
pavilions of marble and jasper and busy 
wharves, where at this very moment ships are 
loading marvelous spices and costly perfumes. 

Jester [Waving a baton] 

Pianissimo — w e s t — crescendo — west — allegro 
— west — west. Now graceful and very slow — 
w-e-s-t. 

First Courtier [Tossing up a coin] 

A maravedi for the best rhyme to suit the oc- 
casion — 

[They appear to summon the aid of the 

Muse] 

37 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Isabella 

Why have not other navigators set out to test 
this thousand-year-old-theory ? 

Ferdinand 
The venture is too^ great. ' 

FONSECA 

The Sea of Darkness forbids hunting India 
in a boat — 

First Courtier 
In one end the sea boils ! 

Second Courtier 

Monsters swim in the deep — 

Third Courtier 

There's the v^orld's edge, — a drop over that 
would make an ending indeed for a philosopher. 

Jester [Sings^ 

West ! West ! West ! 

Lo! Toscanelli points west. 
Turn this ear to the south 
And open your mouth, 
Your red nose will be pointing west, 
33 



ACT THE FIRST 

[Aside] That maravedi [pretends to pocket it] 
Thanks! [Courtiers applaud] One adventure 
and an achievement ! 

Columbus 

The eclipse of the moon, the altitude of the 
stars at different latitudes, prove that the earth 
is round, and therefore has no end over which 
either a fool or a philosopher may tumble. 

FONSECA 

Does the rain fall up? [Pointing dozvn] There 
they walk on heads with ease ! Ha ! Ha ! 

All of the Courtiers 
Te! He! He! 

Jester 

West! West! West! 
Columbus has west in his crest! 
At the bottom of Spain 
Up falleth the rain, — 
So everybody sail West ! 
[He turns a courtier upside down in a 
china vase] 
A safe way of finding the bottom of China. 
[Laughter] 

West! West! West! 
How his heart flutters under his vest ! 
Reverse then your head. 
Turn your toes up instead, 
So everybody sail west! 
39 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

[The Courtier emerges from the vase 
rubbing his head] 

Courtier 

I made a great hit and the bottom of China 
fell out ! 

FONSECA 

[Picks up an egg from the banquet table 

and hands it to Columbus] 
Pray tell where is Spain, Cipango and India? 
And — ah — just how would you sail to — India? 
A — hem! Round things roll. 

[He lays the egg on the table and att em.pt s 

to make it stand] 
So clever a philosopher could undoubtedly 
make an tgg to stand on end. 

Columbus [Blandly'] 

Any one of you could do it. 

[They crowd around the table; each one 
tries to make an egg stand, but fails] 

Look! 

[Cracks the egg lightly on the table. It 
stands. The Friar, Queen and King ap- 
plaud] 

Courtiers [Chagrined] 

We could all have done it that way. 

[They imitate Columbus and leave a row 
of eggs standing on the table] 
40 




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ACT THE FIRST 
Columbus 

Have I done easily the thing you thought im- 
possible? So will I show you how to sail to 
India ! As a boy on the wharves at Genoa I 
discovered that an incoming ship showed the 
top of its mast first, and that the hull of the 
outgoing vessel dropped first from sight. 

Jester [Illustrating on an egg'\ 

The farther away she sailed the lower the hull 
dropped. The closer she drew, the higher the 
masts rose; and here I am around the world 
and home again! 

[Their Majesties, Friar and Treasurers 

applaud] 

Isabella 
It is reasonable, Columbus, name your needs. 

Columbus 

Three caravels — 

Ferdinand 

We are, indeed, entertained, but have no means 
to invest in ships to hunt a water route to 
India. 

Courtiers 

Water route to India ! Te ! He ! He ! 
[Slyly nudging each other] 
41 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Jester 

West! West! West! 

Our laurels Prince Henry shall wrest ! 
On the oar let us soar, 
Throug-h the wide western door 

Till we meet with the blest — or unblest — 
[Pointing] 

Down below will be found what is west. 

Isabella 

Have you sought assistance from our brothers 
of France, Portugal and England? 

Columbus 

Alas, yes. They laughed at my plans. 

[Courtiers snicker'] 
FoNSECA [Wilfully misquoting] 
Laughed at him for his pains. 

[They laugh roundly] 

Isabella 

Can you laugh at so wise a philosopher? I 
would, oh so gladly, aid him^ — 

Columbus [Joyfully'] 
Ah!— 

Isabella [5*^^/3;] 

Were it not impossible! 

Columbus [Suddenly fearful] 
There is no such word as impossible ! 

42 



ACT THE FIRST 

Isabella 

Columbus — we are at war. We face debt, 
famine, and if not victory, then annihilation. 
Affairs of State consume us. That is the sole 
reason of your having asked vainly for a suf- 
ficient hearing, — ^but the cause is worthy — 
[Paces up and dozvn] 

Columbus [Aside] 

Heaven help me now! 

[Rapidly appealing first to one, then an- 
other'] 
For years I have vainly sought aid — this is 
my last hope^ — I can not give it up. [Kneeling 
to Ferdinand] I could make you earth's great- 
est potentate! 

Isabella 

Is there no way, Ferdinand? 

[He firmly shakes his head] 
Quintinilla, can Castile float a further loan ? 

QuiNTiNiLLA [Doubtfully] 

I wish she might. 

[They look over papers] 
Isabella [Almost despairingly] 
Luis de Santangel, could Aragon make further 
loan ? 

Luis de Santangel 

Your Majesty, we wait to take our next mara- 

43 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

vedi from the infidel Moor for we have bor- 
rowed to the limit ! 

Columbus 

Were India reached by water — Spain would 
become the highway between the Occident and 
the Orient — the wealth of both would flow in- 
to her coffers. 

Jester {Coughing] 

Coughers^ — ^Cough — Coffins, I say. 
[Laughter'] 

Ferdinand 

A tempter could not more coanpletely captivate 
our senses nor convince our reason against all 
good judgment. 

[Turns aside as if to hide the thought of 

the Far East from himself] 

Columbus 

[Narrowly watching Ferdinand] 

What I discover shall be Spanish discoveries. — 
[A pause] All eyes would be upon Spain. — 
[He pauses again] The ages have foretold it! 
— [A tense pause] By fitting out three cara- 
vels, Spain could !be the means of its accom- 
plishment ! 

Ferdinand [Coldly] 

We have business of greater consequence to 

44 



ACT THE FIRST 

Spain and Christianity. If we drive out the 
infidel Moor, and thereby unite all Christian 
kingdoms we hope to win God's favor. 

Jester 

If only Columbus sails west 
This land will vast riches infest. 

[A Courtier turns him upside down in 

the vase'\ 

Columbus [With fervor'] 

But consider where I would place Spain. Su- 
preme in Europe — Nay, the first world power ! 
This is no idle dream. Hath not God given me 
the hope and the resolution to find Asia by a 
water route? The blessed faith of Jesus may 
then be carried to untold millions of unbeliev- 
ers. 

[The Friar and Isabella cross them- 
selves'] 

Friar and Isabella [Fervently^ 
Amen ! Amen ! 

Jester [Emerging from the vase] 

Then no foes will molest, 
All the heathens be blest. 
If only we'll turn our eyes west ! 
45 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 
Columbus 

Should not their souls be saved from everlast- 
ing perdition? 

[Isabella and Father de Marchena 

again cross themselves^ 

Ferdinand 

[Finally, and with his hack still turned 
on Columbus] 
Go! Tempter, go! 

Courtiers 

Adieu at last. 

\^Kissing fingers] 

Isabella 

How poor is a Queen ! 

[She takes off her crown, holding it in 
both hands. As she looks at it slowly an 
idea unfolds] 

Columbus [Aside] 

Be not overcome! Remember the words the 
Comforter burned in thy soul as thou didst lie 
sick and forgotten near Belem. "God will 
cause thy name to be greatly resounded 
through the whole earth, and will give unto 
thee the keys of the Gates of the West, which 
are closed with strong chains." — What thought 

46 



ACT THE FIRST 

lights Isabella's face ? She turns her crown in 

her hand as if it were a world, 

[Even the Courtiers now watch the 
QuEEN^ while Columbus like a statue of 
Fate waits for her next zvords^ 

Isabella 

These gems shame my wit. Gladly I give 
this man-made bauble for a multitude of God- 
given crowns of salvation. The way is found, 
Quintinilla. These gems shall light Columbus 
across the Sea of Darkness! [To the Treasur- 
ers] Seek the markets of Madrid — [She is un- 
clasping chains and bracelets] and sell enough 
of my jewels to buy and fit out three caravels. 
The blue diamond — 

[She turns to confer further with the 
Treasurers] 

Jester 
Three caraways in a cake. Alas! 

Isabella 
Man and provision — 

FONSECA 

Man? Man with fools? — For sure death? 

47 



COL UMB US, WESTWARD HO ! 

Father de Marchena 

Let the dungeons open, that men's crimes may 
be forgot in a marvelous work and a wonder ! 

Jester 

A-boating ! A-floating ! 

[Drops tears which he pretends to catch 

and throw a^way] 

West! West I West ! 

The West shall our jailbirds infest ; 
Should the winds never blow 
With light oars we will row, 

Just to feather Spain's little bare nest ! 

Isabella 

Christopher Columbus, at our command pursue 
thy quest. Remember Isabella andi Spanish su- 
premacy! [Gives him the jezvels] I shall not 
mourn for these — I'd rather wear pearls from 
the unknown seas and precious gems from 
India ! 

THE CURTAIN FALLS. 



48 



ACT THE SECOND 









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ACT THE SECOND 

SCENE I 

[Columbus and sailors are aboard the 
flagship, Pint a, with Columbus in com- 
mand. The caravels Santa Maria and 
Nina are seen in the distance. It is twelve 
of the clock Friday, October tzvelfth, 1492, 
Columbus at starboard zuatches the ivest. 
A group of sailors huddle in the centre of 
the stage staring at the hour glass^ 

First Sailor [As the last grains of sand fall] 

Once more the midnight hour passes! [He re- 
verses the hour glass] What more dreadful 
plight cam this unlucky Friday bring ? 

Second Sailor 
We left Palos a-Friday. 

Third Sailor 

[Suddenly waking from his sleep on deck, 

he rolls over and over, coming up on his 

elbows madly staring] 

A monstrous dream! Ha! Would to God I 

could wake to find myself safe in prison at 

Palos! 

51 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Fourth Sailor 

Nights of torture — days of unending desert of 
sea. — We are under a spell of enchantment ! 

\^They sink down and moan and cross 

themselves] 

Pilot 

[Enters from starboard, staggering] 

Sailors, [Holding high the compass] The hand 

no longer points north ! 

[They run in terror to see for themselves 
and then groan in despair. The sailors 
following the pilot ntdke threatening 
gestures at Columbus^ who watches for 
signs of land] 

Second Sailor 

If land is not seen today — 

[They mumble threateningly together and 
point at Columbus] 

Diego [Shrugging his shoulders] 

Utter madness ! Who would start home a- Fri- 
day ! No ! Let us bear this one day longer. 

Second Sailor 

One day? Have we not seen him in wild 
weather serenely dreaming of land while we 
lay despairing on the quaking deck? He will 
never forsake his quest! 

52 



ACT THE SECOND 

[Second Sailor draws out a knife and 
tests its point] 

All 

His life! 

First Sailor 

Push him overboard and say he fell ! 

Diego 

A dead man can't — ^take us back — Bethink you 
— none but he knows the ship's course. 

[With whisper and threatening gestures 

they plot a mutiny] 

Columbus [Musing] 

Prophetic signs everywhere! On the water! 
In the air! In my heart! Hasten, dawn! Pa- 
tience, last one more hour ! 

First Sailor [Suddenly leading a mutiny] 
You've got to turn back ! 

Columbus 
Turn back ? Never ! Cowards turn back ! ! 

Second Sailor 

Dreamer of sea-weed and land — die! 
[Rushing toward him] 
53 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Columbus 

Cowards ! Stand back ! {He quells them] 'Tis 
the hour of victory ! 

All [In derision] 
Victory! Victory! Victory! 

Columbus 

See^ — signs of land! [Points] Shoals appear. 
India lies ahead ! Land ! Land ! 

All [Mocking] 

Land ! Land ! It's always land ! 

[They creep toward him again, bent on 
harm] 

Columbus 

What is yon dark spot in the rigging? 
[They peer above] 

Diego 
Only a bird — ^a living bird ! 

All 

A-^bird— 

[They question each other, point up and 
pinch themselves to make sure they are 
awake] 

54 



ACT THE SECOND 

Columbus [Mockingly] 

You said ''a bird" — Diid it fly from Spain? 

[Laughs, They wonder and stare] 
Now, look at larboard! 

[They hesitatingly go in little groups to 

the ship's side to peer out] 

Sailors 
What? Where? [Amazed] Herons? Ducks? 

Columbus 

Did you say ''herons and ducks" — and paddled 
all the way from Spain? 
[They marvel] 

Fifth Sailor [Running from starboard] 

The sea is green ! — suddenly green ! 

[He drags two sailors hack to look — they 
appear almost paralyzed with surprise. 
They pinch themselves] 

Columbus 

'Tis seaweed ! A variety that grows only near 
shore. What moves on the seaweed? 

[They run to look. Diego hooks up a 

crab] 

All 

Crabs ? Birds ? Seaweed ? 

[Not believing their senses they turn first 
to one then another] 
55 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Columbus 
Say you from Palos? * 

Third Sailor ^Suspiciously^ 

Curse you if you put them overboard ! If you 
fool us again — 

Columbus 

Quick! Yonder floats — 

[Diego hooks up a green dripping wet 
branch. They pluck off the green leases 
zvhich they examine amasedly] 

Columbus 
It seems to be summer in India ! 

Fourth Sailor 
See! 

[Runs in zvith a carved stick] 

Columbus 
Who carved that ? 

All 

None but a human hand ! 

Columbus 

Columbus [Shaking a sack of money] 
Ten thousand maravedies for him who first 
sights land ! Who will win the Queen's prize ? 

56 




Columbus! 'Tis scaivced! A 
variety that grozm only near 
shore. What moves on the 
seazvced? [They run to look. 
Diego hooks up a crab] 



ACT THE SECOND 

Diego 

[Turns a hand springs throws up caps 

snatched from sailors' heads] 
For the last time I'll to the rigging to look 
for land! 

Other Sailors 

[Throzving up caps and shouting] 
And I ! I ! I ! 

[A fezv more sailors though hesitatingly. 

nozv climb the rigging. A little group 

still stands at larboard zvhisperingj sulking. 

plotting together] 

First Sailor [Among the plotters] 

Despair has been mine for days — but once 
more I shall trust this strange man — I'll fol- 
low Diego. 
[Climbs] 

Third and Fourth Sailors [From among 

the plotters embrace each other joyfully 
and follozAf] 
I! I! 

[The other plotters gradually shozv inter- 
est but remain stubbornly zvatching] 

First Sailor [From the rigging] 

I see faint streaks of the dawn. Morning will 
presently break to show us if we are mad ! ! 
Columbus [Again zvatching] 

Ho! Yonder is a new star! No 'tis too large 

57 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

for a star! It glimmers like a light in the 
hand of a man running on shore! Diego my 
eyes utterly fail, — look well — ^and tell me what 
lies ahead. 

[In the gray of dawn all on hoard, save 
Columbus,, who waits with bared, bowed 
head, stand in the tensest attitudes watch- 
ing for the first sight of land] 

Diego [From the rigging] 

Dawn is breaking, but I see nothing — [A 
pause] Nothing but a faint, — long, — gray, — 
cloud on the horizon^ — in the west — 

Columbus [Starts and falls on his knees] 

"Horizon — in the west." 
[A long tense pause] 

Fourth Sailor 
Land ho! 

[A shot is heard from the Nina near by] 

Sailors [In the wildest joy] 

Land ho! Land! Land! It is true! It is 
there ! Land ! Now God be praised ! 

[They all point west as they ''joyfully 
shout; the group of plotters prostrate 
themselves before Columbus] 

Columbus 
India at last. 

THE CURTAIN FALLS. 
58 



ACT THE SECOND— SCENE II 



ACT THE SECOND 



SCENE II 



[About nine months have elapsed. The 
curtain rises on the Spanish Court at Bar- 
celona with King Ferdinand oftid Queen 
Isabella on their thrones. Spanish 
courtiers and ladies-in-waiting wave ban- 
ners and the Spanish colors as Christo- 
pher Columbus enters in a triumphal 
pageant. Columbus is preceded 'by a 
group of picturesque and most fantastic 
Red-men decked out with war paint, beads, 
feathers, furs, and ornaments of gold. 
They carry with impressive dignity huge 
bows and arrows, tomahawks and war 
clubs. The Red-men are closely followed 
by the court Jester arrayed in the gay- 
est Indian trappings. The Jester loses 
no opportunity to attract attention to him- 
self nor to create a laugh. He takes his 
wonted seat at Isabella's feet. Next 
comes Columbus, flanked on both sides 
with brilliantly dressed Portuguese and 
Spanish cavaliers, who render the discov- 
erer their respect and homage. Following 
them enters Columbus' son, Diego, and 
behind him six stalwart youths march 
singly, bearing trays of fruits and nuts. 
Diego carries an herbarium of the flora of 
the newly discovered islands. They kneel 
61 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

before the thrones with their gifts. Be- 
hind them six fair maidens come, also 
singly, with stuffed birds of beautiful 
plumage on their shoulders. They carry 
baskets wrought from twigs containing 
rare ferns and flowering plants brought 
by Columbus. The maidens kneel with 
their gifts] 

All 

Long live Isabella! Long live Ferdinand! 

Long live Columbus ! 

[Columbus kneels but the M anarchs gra- 
ciously raise him and motion him to a seat 
before them] 

Isabella 

Welcome, Columbus! 

[Touching him with her scepter] 
Receive the title, "Great Admiral of the Ocean 
and Governor General of the Islands and the 
continents of Asia and of the Indies." 

Ferdinand 

[Reaching toward him his scepter] 
We bestow upon you the title "The Admiral," 
which shall be inherited by your descendants. 

Isabella 

Come hither, Diego. [The boy kneels] You 
are appointed page to our son, Prince Juan. 

62 



ACT THE SECOND 

\^To Columbus] Speak of your discoveries and 
be seated, while we listen. 

Columbus 

[^Takes the proffered seat and after a dra- 
matic pause in zvhich all turn to him almost 
with hated breath he begins^ 

My Lords — how may I find words! [A pause] 
Since my early youth I have been a mariner. 
I have sailed to every port known to naviga- 
tion. To navigate the seas one must investigate 
the secrets of this world. I have studied all 
that is writ on cosmography, history and phil- 
osophy. I have dealt and talked with the 
learned, both laymen and ecclestiastics ; with 
Greek, Latin, Jew, Moor and Christian. Our 
Lord, whose hand in this affair, I palpably see, 
has led me. He filled me with the dream that 
I should sail to discover India; He kindled in 
imy heart a burning desire to accomplish it! 
Urged by this fire, for eighteen years I wan- 
dered from court to court begging aid. Every- 
one who heard my project laughed me to 
scorn. Neither my knowledge of the sciences, 
nor their intrinsic authority availed. My last 
hope found its fruition. Was it not in the 
great plan that Spain should bring the West to 
the East ? Who doubts that this light came to 
your Majesty as it had come to me from the 

63 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Comforter? Was it not that same light which 
constantly urged jme on and that is still hasten- 
ing my steps? The Western gates are un- 
locked, not opened ! Again I would sail — 

{Applause. He is unable to continue and 

gives way to tears'] 

Ferdinand [Grandly] 

Great Admiral ! Following so closely our con- 
quest of Granada, we look upon your marvel- 
ous discoveries as a mark of Divine favor for 
our achievement in the cause of Christianity. 
Your preservation through raging tempests, 
your letters promptly sent us from Portugal, 
your presence today with these Red-men, — 
our children, the birds of rare plumage, the 
new and strange plants, are good harbingers of 
what is stored for Spain in our new pwDsses- 
sions. Queen Isabella made this possible — \^A 
pause] Only Isabella would give her favorite 
gems — her blue diamonds — for so costly an 
adventure. 

[They all rise and wave banners] 

All [Acclaiming] 
Isabella ! Isabella ! 

Ferdinand 

Father Superior, you deserve our reverence for 
your part in this achievement. 

64 



ACT THE SECOND 

Father Superior [Bowing low] 

Your Majesties, since "The Admiral" brought 
these noble Red-men to Spain, I have looked 
into their faces, studied their ways, and I want 
them for my brothers. The Holy Father at 
Rome has by special dispensation given me 
this. [Touching his breast] Would it be in 
keeping to give unto them, this never-to-be- 
forgotten-day, the message of this Holy Book ? 

[The King and Queen bow assent, Fer- 
dinand beckons the Indians^ who proudly 
step forzvard] 

I have for you a gift, precious above all gifts, 
which I shall prepare you to some day re- 
ceive — It is the Good Book ! 

Indians 

The Good Book? 

[Father Superior gently leads them 
aside where they all sit on the floor as they 
listen intently to the Friar] 

Ferdinand [Rising] 

Good Knights, the Admiral's closing words 
were — "Again I would sail!" What shall be 
your response? Shall adventure cease? 

65 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Hidalgo 

No! No! A second voyage — Aye! Aye! 
Aye! 

Ferdinand 

Christopher Columbus, we do command your 
presence early in September, to sail with four- 
teen caravels, two ships of heavy burden and 
fifteen hundred selected followers. Who craves 
a place in the fleet with this Italian follower of 
the light? 

HiDALGOES [Wildly^ 
I! I! I! 

Columbus 
God be praised! 

Ferdinand 

On your knees, one and all! Give thanks to 
God for His good and perfect gifts and His 
mercy which endureth forever! 

[They all raise clasped hands and chant 
the ''Te Deiim" as 

THE CURTAIN FALLS. 
66 




The Flagship Piiita 



ACT THE SECOND— SCENE III 



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ACT THE SECOND 

SCENE III 

[The same as before, eight years after- 
ward. Ferdinand and Isabella await 
the coming of Columbus. The King all 
vainly seeks to hide his anxiety while the 
Queen distractedly paces the floor] 

Isabella 

Columbus is late. 

Ferdinand 
He will come presently. 

Isabella 

Three wonderful voyages ! Oh Ferdinand, who 
made Spain the favored of all nations? Why 
have we listened to wicked stories against the 
man whom God raised up to serve us? Why 
have we stripped him of his titles and robbed 
him of his royalties ? But his honors you must 
speedily restore — you promised me that, Fer- 
dinand. 

Ferdinand [Awkwardly] 

Yes — his honors shall at the proper time — be 
restored. — You know we would remain pale 
satellites were all our promises kept. 

69 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Isabella [Gently^ 
Kings keep kings' pledges ! 

Attendant 
Christopher Columbus waits. 

Isabella 

Bid him enter. 

[They start up horrified to see Columbus 
enter, whitened zvith sorroiv, emaciated, 
broken in hearing, amd in irons. He feebly 
approaches their Majesties and throws 
himself at their feet, extending his fet- 
tered hands tozvard them in stip plication, 
Isabella springs forzvard to lift him and 
in doing so sees his fetter-scarred wrists 
and turns away silently weeping, A pause, 
in which Andreas Martin enters] 

Ferdinand 

Who has done this vile thing? [Turns upon 
Andreas Martin] Strike off those irons. 
[Martin obeys] Who art thou? 

Columbus 

Blame not Andreas Martin, the Captain of the 
ship which brought me to Spain, — his was 
only loving service. 

70 



ACT THE SECOND 

Ferdinand 

'Twere well, else he would know a king's dis- 
pleasure. But man, answer me. Who did 
this? 

Andreas Martin 
Bobadilla. 

Ferdinand and Isabella [Astonished] 
Bobadilla? 

Columbus 
None other. 

Isabella [Runs to Columbus] 

Rise ! Rise ! 

[Tries to assist him, but he remains on 
his knees slozvly gathering up the irons 
and concealing them in his clothing and 
muttering to himself] 

Columbus 

Rewards of my services to Spain ! When I die 
I want them buried with me in the land I dis- 
covered ! 

Ferdinand [Aside to Andreas] 

Speak further. 

71 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Andreas Martin 

When we touched the Indies, Bobadilla 
straightway sought the Governor's palace, de- 
Hvered your Majesties' letter to Columbus, 
which told him to submit to whatever Bobadilla 
ordered in your names. He assumed the gov- 
ernorship, ordered his scullion to put the Ad- 
miral and his two brothers in irons and com- 
manded me to bring thqm prisoners to Spain. 
We embarked. When I would have removed 
his irons Columbus would not — suffer it — 

\^He turns away'\ 

Isabella 
Columbus — 

Ferdinand [Affecting great anger"] 

Bobadilla shall be deposed. Let him feel my 
displeasure! Columbus, in the near future 
your honors shall be restored. 

Isabella 

There! There! [^Beseechingly'] Rise. Lift 
your head again! We will make amends! 
What may we do? 

\_She weeps when he refuses to rise] 
72 



ACT THE SECOND 

Columbus 

Tears heal wounds — To have Isabella strike 
off the chains is all I ask save that — 

[He rises in all of his old majesty] 

Isabella 
Speak ! 

Columbus 

Oh Isabella, know you not what is in my 

heart? 

[Isabella nods zvith quick understand- 
ing] 

Columbus 
Come. 

[He leads the way to a table and beckons 
Ferdinand to follow. He snatches va- 
rious rolls, maps and papers from his 
clothing and spreads them before their 
Majesties who follow his every motion] 

Eight marvelous years of adventure and ex- 
ploration ! These are the maps of the first voy- 
age of discovery. San Salvador! Here those 
of the second expedition! Here are the maps 
of the greatest and the latest undertaking! 
Here the Bahamas ! Here Cuba ! Hayti ! 
Here Porto-Rico! Jamaica! And the many, 
many islands that I have discovered. 

[They are electrified as he rises and points 

zvest] 

73 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

But beyond all these which I have mapped — 
far — far — to the west and the south — there a 
great river flows — I believe from the heart 
of India! 

Ferdinand and Isabella 
A fourth voyage — 

Columbus 

Ah ! I praise thy name ! [ They all cross them- 
selves] The undertaking is fraught with peril. 
Naught but a good ship will weather the long 
voyage — 

Ferdinand [Weighing the words zvell] 

A — good — ship. 

[Sits at the table to write] 
A — good — ^ship. 

Isabella [Graciously smiling] 
Three achievements and then — 

Columbus [With fervor] 

Another of which to dream ! 

[Starts up feverishly, when his hand is on 
the door, turns to look back] 

Isabella 

But wait — you must first take some ease — 
some rest and nourisihment — your frail body — 

74 



ACT THE SECOND 

Columbus 

{Rchirning to look over Ferdinand's 

shoulder] 
Isabella, delay me not a day ! The sea is call- 
ing. The light is still in the west! [Watching 
Ferdinand narrozdy] Not of small islands do 
the natives whisper but of a great Bay with 
pearls — [Ferdinand writes] and a land stored 
with gold — mountains of gold — \^The King 
tears what he has ztritten and rewrites] Not 
of small islands but of what I dream is — 

Ferdinand [Finishing] 

There! The greatest squadron yet! 

[He hands the paper to Columbus who 
greedily reads, and tvith a glozv of tri- 
tunph places it in his breast] 

Columbus [Aside] 

Ah ! what holds my fourth voyage for me and 
for the world? 

[ To their Majesties] 
— Of what I believe is a great continent ! And 
now farewell — [bozving] until I bring word of 
The Mainland. 

All 
The Mainland!! 

[Exit severally at right, left, or center as 

THE CURTAIN FALLS. 

75 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 



THE EPILOGUE 

[Hovel at Seville ^ Spain, where Colum- 
bus lies ill on a pallet. The room is stripped 
of other furniture and plainly shows 
the pinch of poverty. His sons Hernando 
and Diego hang affectionately over him. 
His old friend the Sea Captain with 
folded arms stands statue-like staring va- 
cantly out of window. A loud knock 
brings the son Diego to the door which 
he opens to the old Prior of La Rabida] 

Diego [With emotion] 
Father Superior of La Rabida! 

[Columbus rouses] 

Father Superior [Embracing the boy] 

It was for you Columbus begged a crust at 
the Priory! [Kneels at the pallet] Great Ad- 
miral — 

76 



THE EPILOGUE 

Columbus {Mournfully'] 
Fate has turned back her wheel ! 

Father Superior 
Do you not know the old Prior? 

Columbus 

Yes. [With an apologetic wave of the hand] 
I only have changed. 

Father Superior 

[Taking in with an amazed glance Co- 
lumbus' degradation'] 
Tell me of 3^our fourth voyage. 

Hernando [Aside to the Prior] 

Their Majesties have never heard its tale. 
[Relieves the Prior of his cloak] 

Columbus 

My fourth voyage — peril, mutiny, fever, days 
of starving, nights of despair, few could sur- 
vive its stress — but I live to endure worse — 
[With yearning] Why am I not exploring? 
Why do I lie here forgotten even by the Lord ? 

Father Superior 

He chasteneth whom the Lord loveth — only 
Kings forget — 

77 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

' Columbus 

[Suddenly rises and puts a hand suggest- 
ively on Friar de Marchena's shoulder^ 
A Prior may stir a King's conscience! A 
Queen is always to be persuaded to adventure! 
\_A pause] 

Father Superior [Knowingly] 
Intercede again? I am to ask Ferdinand to — 

Columbus 

Not promise. For years I have lived on prom- 
ises — that my honors, my titles, my royalties, 
would be restored. Alas! Promises flower 
along Life's way but when you pluck them for 
your own they wither. 

Diego 
We found gold and pearls — 

Columbus 
Enough to make Isabella rich forever! 

Father Superior 
Ha! 

Columbus 

But they were all lost in the storm. 

78 



THE EPILOGUE 

[They droop despairingly, hut Columbus, 
seeing their despair, starts with a nezv de- 
termination. He brings the Prior his 
wi'ap and puts on the Sea Captain his 
hat and cloak and taking his hand puts it 
in that of the Father Superior. With 
a shrug of his shotdders the Sea Captain 
silently accepts the mission to go zvith the 
Prior to Ferdinand and Isabella. With 
a hand on the shoulder of each he ad- 
dresses first one then the other] 
Captain, prepare yourself to meet the lies of 
Porras. Father, remember the King listens to 
Fonseca. Ask Ferdinand who gave Spain her 
sea prowess ! Isabella gave me her jewels and 
for each gem I have returned an island ! Ask 
her if she ever thought of that! Tell them I 
have served their Majesties with as much zeal 
as if it had been to gain Paradise. If I have 
failed in aught, it is because my knowledge 
went no further. But, Diego, your mission 
is — 

Sea Captain 

Not hard. Remember the day I left you 
stranded in a rotten hulk in mid ocean; your 
crew mutinous, dependent on the islanders for 
food. After days of rowing through the desert 
waters — months of waiting for a ship, I res- 
cued you — 

79 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Columbus 
And I knew you would come! 

Sea Captain 

That sounds like Columbus. Sea-going men 
never despair. This is an easy task. 

Columbus 
Go then — 

[Pushing them along tozvard the door and 

prompting them alt the way'] 
Captain, remember all is not discovered. — 

Sea Captain 
Trust me — 

[With a hand on the latch and the Prior 
at his back] 

When Ferdinand and Isabella hear the true 
tale of your wonderful fourth voyage — 

Columbus 

[Rubbing his hands together in glee] 

Ships will be overhauled, — supplies will be 
piled 'tween decks, old arms and new ones will 
be burnished and one morning in a rosy dawn 
a mighty squadron will nose its course out of 
a blue, blue bay. [Chuckling] I know the lure 

80 



THE EPILOGUE 

of the light in the West to a new order of sea 
men and adventurers ! Ha ! Ha ! 

[^They all force themselves to join in the 
laugh] 
The Light ! 

[With his hands on his head] 
The sea roars in my ears as if they were sea- 
shells ! 

[They laugh knowingly zvhen a thunder- 
ing knock on the door followed by other 
knocks^ paralyses the inmates of the hovel. 
After a pause and another knock, the door 
is suddenly thrown open and a royal mes- 
senger enters] 

Messenger 

A message from the Queen, who is ill. Colum- 
bus, you are summoned to her bedside. A lit- 
ter waits at the door. Hasten ! 

All [One follozving another] 
Isabella ! 

Columbus [Brokenly] 

To meet the Queen? Impoverished as I am 
by my very discoveries, how may I appear be- 
fore her in these rags? 

[He is overcome but only momentarily] 
But I shall go. Redress shall be mine ! Not of 

81 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

my moneys shall I speak but of mine honors, 
that my name shall go down to my posterity 
unsullied and undishonored. My cloak! My 
hat ! Help me hence. 

[^They tenderly zvrap him in his old man- 
tle and support him zvhen he sinks and 
lay him on the litter which two attendants 
bring in. The Prior at the door peers in- 
to the street] 
Now to the Queen. 

Father Superior 

The streets are in a ferment — [Shading his 
eyes] A swift rider approaches — and as he 
passes the people, grief seizes every man ! 

A Voice [Passing] 

Isabella of Castile is dead ! 

[All bow heads. The Sea Captain sta- 
tions himself at window, staring out va- 
cantly. The sons weep on each other's 
shoidder. The Queen's attendants leave 
with the litter] 

Columbus 

Dead! Dead! Dead! — Did you see a crab 
on the sea-weed? — The Light! [Unsheathing 
an imaginary sword] In the name of the King 
and Queen of Spain I take possession of this 

82 



THE EPILOGUE 

land! Christ I bring to the heathen! Rise 
my sailors, you are forgiven — l)ut kneel to 
Him — This most — strange — land — and yet — 
I think — I'm sure — we have reached India at 
last! October, January — Then I must, put 
iback — But to leave the quest now — but that I 
know my death would blot out all knowledge 
of the discovery — 

\^He kneels as if picking up handcuffs, 
which he disposes about his person'] 
Bury them with me in the land I discovered. 
Only — ^broken — pledges ! Diego the Captain 
is dead or a ship would come! Can't enter 
Port — Not find refuge in the Bay I discovered 
— but my ships need repairs — Sail not out, fool- 
isih' Captain. Don't dare the deep tonight — 
What ! has she sailed ? — What ! every man went 
down — [Hiding the sight with his hands] 
Pearls — isave them for her — ^only a woman 
would give a crown — This spicy sweetness of 
the air overpowers me — This fourth voyage 
seems wafting me straight to Eden's bowers — 
gold too — what will Spain say tc this ? 

Father Superior 

What will Spain say to this — what will the 
World say to this ! 

Columbus 

Tears heal scars and sometimes they bring a 

83 



COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

ship to sail ! \_Soft music floats into the hovel] 
The waves are beating on the shores of the 
mainland! They say "Unchained!" I hear 
''Unchained" resounded through the whole 
earth! Is it the Master's voice or only chil- 
dren's song? 

[The music which has continued like dis- 
tant thrumming on a harp now dies azvay 
and then is heard children's song floating 
from future centuries to the praise and 
glory of America's True Discoverer] 
[Columbus slowly sinks, but rouses him- 
self] 

Be — not overcome! — 

Father Superior [Softly calling] 
Columbus ! Coluimbus ! 

Columbus [Half rising] 

O God, at last ! I am ready ! The Light ! The 
Light ! I have waited — so — long — for my 
Fifth Voyage! What a ship! Dress her for 
the voyage — the most wonderful of all ! ! — 
What will Italy — say! My ship, sail thou on! 
On! Sailing! [Slowly sinks] 

[The Prior crosses himself as 

THE CURTAIN FALLS. 
84- 




Castile's 
Coat of Arins 



WESTWARD HO SERIES 

By Alice Merrill Home 

COLUMBUS, WESTWARD HO! 

Illustrated by Florence Ware 
Cloth, $2.00; art leather, $3.00 

NEW TALES OF OLD PIONEERS 

Profusely illustrated with old time portraits 

and pioneer scenes. 

Cloth, $2.25; art leather, $3.00 

The second edition in process of revision — 

DEVOTEES AND THEIR SHRINES 

A Handbook of Utah Art 
Profusely illustrated with reproductions by 
Utah masters, showing with other new matter 
sculptures by Dallin, Mahonri Young, Leo 
and Avard Fairbanks; Wesley Browning's 
new water colors and pastels; a chapter on 
Will Clawson, with six important portraits; 
Alma Wrights new wall panels; Lee Greene 
Richards' new Salon portraits; Alfred Lam- 
bourne's new water colors ; Recent water 
colors by Mary Teasdel. Entirely new 
chapters on Le Conte Stewart, Louise Rich- 
ards Farnsworth, Florence Ware, Mabel 
Frazer, Girard Hale, George Barratt, Waldo 
Midgley, Jack Sears, Laurence Squires, Her- 
man Palmer, Rhea Taylor, John H, Moser, 
Calvin Fletcher, Virgil Hafen, and Joseph 
Everett, and a new chapter on Utah County 
artists. 
Cloth, $2.25; art leather, $3.00 





T^H^ 


^^My 




^ 


AI ,ICE MERRILL HORNE 


Art Connoisseur, 


dealer in fine art by 


UTAH 


MASTERS 


announces a continuous art exhibit, at her 


home, showing works by 


G. W. Browning 


Alfred Lambourne 


Will Clawson 


Waldo Midgley 


C. E. Dallin 


Herman Palmer 


Avard Fairbanks 


Lee Greene Richards 


Leo Fairbanks 


Myra Sawyer 


J. B. Fairbanks 


Le Conte Stewart 


Mabel Frazer 


Lawrence Squires 


Calvin Fletcher 


Rhea Taylor 


J. T. Harwood 


Mary Teasdel 


Girard Hale 


Florence Ware 


John Hafen 


Alma Wright 


Virgil Hafen 


Mahonri Young 


The artists of Utah 


County and other promi- 


nent artists. 





LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

'"" " I III!! lilll Hill liill I!!!! iini iiiii im 



015 907 775 5 





